Passion / noun / strong and barely controllable emotion.
-Neglect
-Homelessness
-Abuse
-Abandoned infants
-Broken families
-Squalor & poverty
Hope /noun/ a strong feeling of belief for the best outcome
-Home for teen mothers
-Training
-Breaking the cycle of abandonment
-Transition houses
-New foster Families
-Family preservation
-Forever Families
These days, those words have become a staple in my vocabulary as well as the cause for my passion and hope. I speak these words and my heart is full of the possibilities and the plans for the future of this ministry; I catch myself daydreaming of the changes that are wished to be made and the reality that is coming:
-Abandoned babies, no longer being institutionalized.
-Families, fostering & loving children like they are their own.
-Teen mothers learning to be self sufficient and trained on how to be a responsible and loving mother.
-Children, once hopeless, now having a home to call their own.
-Families, no longer being ripped apart because of unfortunate circumstances and a lack of resources.
Today, my best friend, my older-sister and I sorted through a tower of donations that had recently arrived from the United States. The love and generosity put into this shipment was truly overwhelming. (Let’s just say there were a lot of good laughs as well as tears shed).
One broken iPod doc, three cockroaches, four stink bugs, five cups of coffee, a partridge in a pare tree and seven hours later, most of the boxes had been sorted.
As I stood back looking at the boxes set aside and filled with gifts for delivery to the family being supported by Legacy of Hope’s family preservation program, I was overcome with the thought of the joy and relief that this would bring to them. Who better deserves this then the father who scourers the country looking for work, longing to keep his 8 children together after losing his wife to cancer? I kept thinking about his words, “My children. They are my heart, my whole heart. I can’t lose them.”
I reflected on everyone who participated in making this Christmas blessing a reality. These people who sacrificed their time, energy, and belongings to people they have never met and probably never will.
Then it dawned on me, this is just the beginning. The start of so many families that will be blessed through these generous donations, all of the many people that could be helped and educated, the resources that could be prepared and utilized, the beginning of a bright and hopeful future.
I picture the land we have been praying over—a place to build this future, a place equipped with training facilities, a warehouse of accessible resources, and a team of people, ready with open arms to restore hope and inspire lives. I felt God saying “These people, they are my children, they are my heart, my whole heart. We can’t lose them.”
With a restored hope and passion, I know Legacy of Hope needs land, and land God WILL provide.
